"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." ~ Thomas Jefferson

Friday, March 02, 2007

Eagles Gather For Flock Fest(It's kind of long so grab your coffee)In case you don't pay attention to the latest right wing conspiracy theories, let me clue you in, this one is good, and even kind of funny.

A group of right wingers who call themselves the "Gathering Of Eagles" (as pointed out by HP's Chris Kelly a group of eagles is not actually a "gathering" but a "congress") are gearing themselves up for the largest assault on American Freedom yet - an anti-war demonstration in Washington D.C. on March 17.

The Gathering claims that on this fateful date in history all hell will break lose when antiwar demonstrators deface the Vietnam Memorial and spit at war veterans. It's like the tribulations only worse for the chest thumping "Gathering of Hawks".

The only problem with this theory? Well, it's just that, a theory.

There has not been any plans made by the "radical left" for vet spitting contests or wall defacing debacles led by the "Hanoi Jane's" and "Cindy Sheehan's" who will be attending the peaceful demonstration.

So obviously the strange paranoia that "The Gathering" is suffering from is quite unfounded and quite delusional. But then again, with the "dedication" (some call it radicalism) of this group it wouldn't surprise me if some of their own "Eagles" defaced the memorial or spit at vets, just to reinforce the rest of the "flocks" point of view.

So however unfounded the conspiracy theory is, that didn't stop fellow flocker Russ Vaughn at Eagle Fest from writing an eloquent and creative poem (?) about the.. ah..umm.. huh.. umm.. imminent disaster that isn't going to happen on March 17.

I don't want to torture everyone with the simple mindedness of the entire poem, but a few lines are just screaming to be pointed out.

Linguistic genius Russ Vaughn at the Flock of Eagles or Gathering of Flocks, or Flock of Seagulls or whatever it is called wrote the following :

"You can shout and scream all you want,On all that we'll give you a pass;But you try some Wall-defacing stunt,And, son, I'm gonna kick your ass."

First, I can't imagine in what world the words "want" and "stunt" would have any rhyming capability in. "Donchu be pullin' no stant" ?? Okay...

Second, it surely doesn't surprise me that a pro-war person would reduce themselves to the level of violence to prove their point, it doesn't surprise me a bit. I mean, it makes logical sense doesn't it?

BOY! This guy has an incredible amount of insight, his writing skills are superb, I mean, all that stuff about Shakespeare being a good writer? Blasphemy! "Leftie motherfuckers" is art, it's poetry! "Ain't layin' "? That's a superior use of the English language right there.

But there is more, I can't stop now, it's just too interesting. Like, WOW, I thought people like this only existed in parodies of right wing lunatics, I didn't know they were actually real.

"And, son, you hear this loud and clear,Don't even think about spittin'Less you want that smart mouth busted here,And believe me, we're not shittin'."

Oooh, more solving problems with violence! That's typical of a right winger for you. I'm glad to know that they are "not shittin'" because otherwise this whole thing could get messy...

OK, I am just going to pop this question ... Is this guy sitting in a splintered rocking chair on a dilapidated porch with a piece of wheat hanging from his toothless grin, wearing rolled up overalls splashed with mud, beat up old banjo in one hand, bottle of whiskey in the other and his shotgun leaned up against the house behind him while belting "Yah- whoo!!" somewhere? Because that is the pik-a-cher (picture in English) Russ Vaughn is painting of himself in my head.

Also, as already written there is not a vast left conspiracy to deface the Vietnam memorial, or spit on Veterans for that matter on March 17. Vaughn is just propagating anger and paranoia towards "the left" (I guess he means the majority of Americans who are now opposed to the war).

In a shift-the-blame-scapegoating tactic Vaughn also writes:

"Because of you losers we lose our wars,"Really, who is this guy kidding? Or more accurately, who does he think he is trying to kid?

It must be himself, because last time I checked the reasons we lose wars is because we plan them poorly, have morons in charge, or have a flawed foundation for invasion - or all three.

When we win wars it is largely because we had intelligent and strategic planning and men of vision in charge and a justified foundation for war.

We don't lose wars because of protesters, but it is convenient to try to blame the protesters, isn't it? "We could have won the war if you supported it." Is a lot easier than admitting mistakes and failures, a lot easier. What the right wing ideologues fail to mention is that they had everyone support right up until the moment everything collapsed into scandal, corruption and failure. It's kind of hard to support those things, when, you know, you have a conscious.

Anyway, back to Vaughn's articulate and thought provoking "poem"

"So follow these traitors, those loser bitches,Let them lead you to your fall;But I promise you, son, you're gonna need stitches,You even get close to this Wall."

More threats of violence, what a shock!

I was wrong to assume Vaughn was a harmless if ignorant hick, no, he's much more than that, more like the guy who will throw a brick through your windshield for accidentally cutting him off in traffic.

So all this talk of Vaughn, his poem, and the upcoming demonstrations (and counter demonstrations) in D.C. made me curious enough to look up the "Gathering of Eagles" on "the Internets". I had to use "the Google", but I found it, and let me tell you, it blew my mind.

Curiosity compelled me so I clicked on the link. Who are these people? Do they really believe what they are writing? If so, what planet are they from? Why do they claim to be the "Silent Guard of America's Memorials" but appear to be hosting an array of right wing conspiracy theories and talking points? Some of those soldiers must surely be liberals...

"the American Left called for the defeat and humiliation of our military, even going so far as to support the barbaric hordes of Islam in their quest to destroy America." Do you hear that? Shhh... (coo-coo, coo-coo)

Yeah, I hear the Demoncrats are holding mass conversions, daily now, you know, for those of us who have decided to "support the barbaric hordes of Islam". The statement shows how little Kit Jarrell knows about "the left" or Islam.

Radical Islam is not compatible with the the Liberal left! (After all, according to the Conservative right, the radical Muslims attacked us because of our Liberal values, not despite of them). Radical Islam is, however, compatible with the values of right wing conservatism. There is no such thing as a Liberal Jihadist, they are all extremist conservatives! So to suggest the Liberals and Terrorist are in "cahoots", so to speak, is quite simple minded, their values are as opposite as the poles.

The same writer comments that :

"The college-age hippies of 1969 were now parents and grandparents, with families who didn’t have the faintest idea where Iwo Jima is and wouldn’t dream of enlisting in the “imperialist army” of their nation."

Oh, puh-leaze! Don't forget to mention the fact that the children and grandchildren of the "imperialist" war hawks wouldn't dream of enlisting in the military either, but their reasons are of cowardice and greed, not guided out of principals like the children of the "hippies".

"The antiwar crowd kept marching and declared themselves the majority."The "antiwar crowd" did not declare itself to be the majority, the majority joined the antiwar crowd and left the ailing pro war "gathering".

The "antiwar crowd" did not grow because there is an alarming amount of anti-American citizens in this country (as the right wing likes to claim).

The "antiwar crowd" grew because successes in Iraq are few and far between, the crowd grows every time new evidence against the Bush Administrations flawed basis for war are unveiled, the crowd grows bigger when US soldiers are killed, when Iraqi children die, when we see the staggering amount of money invested and the new threats on the horizon.

But these vast right wing conspiracies, that become a way of life for some, about "the enemy at home" which blame Liberals for everything but the extinction of the dinosaurs, can get a little out of touch with reality.

Instead of undermining their Liberal antiwar "enemies" these right wing extremist validate them with their offering of assorted conspiracy theories(always a good friend of the right), violent poetry and insane ramblings tainted with endorsements of violence.

"Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day." ~ Thomas Jefferson

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"The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the Nation as a whole. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile. To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else." - Theodore Roosevelt in the Kansas City Star, May 7, 1918

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